Malaysia: The 12th MIHAS Congregates at the World Halal Summit

With an impressive track-record of over a decade in organising world-class Halal expos and conferences, Malaysia continues to assume its role as the regional and global leader in promoting Halal products and services. This year, the Malaysian government continues to place the country on the global Halal map as a viable and attractive trade and investment destination through its inaugural World Halal Summit (WHS). The event will be held from 30th March to 4thApril 2015 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), Malaysia.

WHS will feature a trade fair and six subject-focused forums hosted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia (MITI). The event is jointly organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) and Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC). Co-organised and managed by Shapers Malaysia Sdn Bhd, several educational institutions such as the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) will also join forces as the event’s strategic partners.

WHS will showcase the largest, world-renowned integrated Halal trade fair called Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS). As the star component of the World Halal Summit, MIHAS, in its 12th edition, has evolved from being a mere platform to create awareness on Halal products and services to being an avenue that emphasises on business transactions between the local and international Halal industry’s stakeholders.

Since its inception in 2004, MIHAS have become the go-to Halal expo having congregated approximately 170,000 visitors from 70 nations, 4,000 companies from 48 countries, and generated more than USD3 billion in sales over the past 11 years. MIHAS’ stature has earned the brand its image as an ideal stage for the Halal industry to showcase good quality products and services as well as a place for new networking prospects and business partnerships among businesses around the world.

According to Datuk Dr. Wong Lai Sum, Chief Executive Officer of MATRADE, “MIHAS offers local and international businesses an avenue to reach out to the right target audience to market their Halal products and services.”

A total of 640 booths are allocated for exhibitors and thus far enterprises from Belgium, mainland China, France, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey have pledged their participation in the event.

“Last year, MIHAS has generated a total sale of USD291.4 million. Sales from the exhibition alone were recorded at USD147.5 million, and USD143.9 million were from the business matching. In line with the increasing interest in the global Islamic economy sectors, we expect the sales record from MIHAS 2015 to increase tremendously this year,” Datuk Dr. Wong Lai Sum mentioned.

In addition to MIHAS, the six forums to be organised include the 8thWorld Halal Conference (WHC), the 6th JAKIM International Halal Certification Bodies Convention, the Certifiers Forum, Scholars Forum, Academics Forum and the Business Forum. For more info, log on to www.halal.com.my.